Slips out of the bottle with a dark tan head sitting over solid black liquid. Nose is all about chocolate, flowery hops and oatmeal. Super roasty maltiness is a nice surprise, tempered by slick oatmeal mouthfeel then bitter hoppiness. Only drawback here is a slightly thinnish mouthfeel, just with it was a bit more ballsy in the body dept. Finished up dry with slight fruitiness, made with care and quite drinkable nonetheless.

Solid black is it's uniform, topped with a crown of roasted tan head, well-retained, bubbly.
Aroma, notes of caramel, cocoa, coffee, anise, pepper, an interesting amalgam of stouty characteristics, all twisted together quite well. Complex and intriguing. Right from the first sniff, I knew I was in for a "sweet stout."
Taste: not so vibrant on the palate, small hop content, thick, assured malt, rich, delicious. Great texture, marvelous play on the tongue, Malt nears viscosity here, yet still remains creamy, and ends a bit dryly. Flavor lingers through the finish. A nice, everyday easily-drinkable stout, with considrable character. I'd stock my fridge with it, if I could, but alas, I have to make do with Kalamazoo Stout.
Big thanks to CRJMellor for this bottle! (773 characters)

Pours jet black and the scent is properly stouty with coffee being dominant.

Flavour however is purely pedestrian, a little bitter, a little malt, a little chocolate, and a noticeable alcohol tinge (surprising given it's low content), but nothing stood out as remarkable, similarly was the case with it's mouthfeel and drinkability.

The main issue I have with this beer is it's inability to impress me in any way, it strikes me as "Generic Stout", I don't plan to have another. (483 characters)

Eclipse black color. Medium tan foamy head. Aroma is chocolate and toffee. A light to medium bodied stout. Malts are roasted, choclately and slightly sweet. Hops are slightly spicy. Very smooth and creamy. Well balanced. A very drinkable stout. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and dry. Aftertaste is slightly sweet. (328 characters)

Poured out to the usual, dark color for this style with a minimum head. There was a nice taste of roasted malt present with a light hop presence. It was ever-so-slightly thin, but tasty. A good, but not great stout. I would drink it again if I saw it, but wouldn't buy it over Bell's K'zoo Stout. (296 characters)

Starboard Stout: An Oatmeal stout from the great State of Michigan. It pours a deep brown heading for black, and it reminds me how long its been since Ive had a stout (It being summer and all around here). The head is dark tan , very thick and long lasting. The aroma is very nice, with scents of chocolate/coffee.

Very nice taste, initial sweetness/mixed with slight burnt malt flavors. The aftertaste is remarkable, very long lasting with strong coffee flavors. This is very tasty. Very smooth and rich mouthfeel as one would expect from an oatmeal stout. Very nice and flavorful, and one Id recommend if you are looking for an American oatmeal stout. (660 characters)

I was suprised at how little aroma there was ... some hint of roasted malts, but not a lot. Rich nitrogen-esque creaminess. Some toasted malt flavor, some chocolate, a mild bitterness at the base of the tongue. Not sweet like most "oatmeal" stouts. This is an "oat malt" stout and is quite different from "oatmeal" stout in that it has the almost dry finish of an Irish stout . Highly recommended. (397 characters)

This brew poured very small head of fine to medium sized dark brown bubbles and an opaque black body. It has a very strong malt coffee aroma. I eagerly anticipated the first taste after smelling the coffee in the aroma. And I was not disappointed. It has a very strong coffee malt flavor with a slight bite in its finish. There's something else in the flavor. Its well hidden. After reading the ratings before me, I have to agree that its the sweetness that's missing from this "Sweet Stout". It is not sweet with the typical chocolate flavor present in a sweet stout. (568 characters)

This stout pours dark in color with a medium sized tan head. It has a roasted coffee aroma. The taste most noticeable is of oats. Very oaty. Burnt espresso is also noted. Too little of amount of hops are used in this one. Not much of a finish. Tastes decent enough, just not complex or balanced as much as I would have liked it to have been. (341 characters)

When poured into my glass, this Stout poured a small tan head with fine-small sized bubbles. There was not much lacing on the sides of my glass with this Stout. The hue of this Stout was black. It had an aroma of coffee and chocolate. This Stout had a good coffee taste to it in my opinion. All in all, not a bad stout. (319 characters)

Appearance: Pours a deep black that shows a bit of garnet when held to a strong light. A light brown head starts at a 1/2 inch and quickly retires to the side of the glass, leaving nothing in the center.

Smell: Sharp aroma of roasted malt and rich coffee. A hint of caramel is hidden deep in the muck. Maybe a bit of licorice.

Taste: The flavor is all roasted malts and burnt coffee grounds. A sharp, acidic note appears midpalate and sticks around the rest of the time. There's a bit of caramel malt, but it's well buried. A bit of chocolate towards the end. Finishes with a flicker of green hop bitterness.

Mouthfeel: Thin and watery, with an acidic, dry finish. This brew is seriously lacking the body department. This is supposed to be an oatmeal stout?

Drinkability: Average. There's not much going on with this brew, and the lackluster body and mouthfeel only hurt it more. Lots of room for improvement here... (928 characters)

Recieved this brew aas part of a beer-of-the-month shipment - I am always excited to get a new stout with these. Poured a jet black color with a mocha colored head that dissapated within a couple minutes. The aroma is very nice, a malty smell along with the usual sweet cocoa/coffee notes. The flavor is full of smoky roasted malt, very smooth with a medium amount of carbonation (I wouldn't say it was too much though). I like this stout more and more with every sip - I have been looking for a beer that exhibited the smoke flavor like this one does. It reminds me of hickory bacon, something I can never pass up. Great beer, you could maybe say not a great oat stout, but this is still one to try out (703 characters)

12 oz bottle. Pours a dark black, with a moderate head that receded quickly. Aroma of roasted coffee, chocolate, and malt. You can taste the malt and has a nice sweetness to it. It's kinda thin in body but has a good flavor. Nice finish that isn't to bitter. A throughly enjoyable stout. (287 characters)

Dark as night. Two fingers of lovely dark beige head. Good retention and very nice lacing. Light but nicely roasty nose. The flavor is full and robust; very nice roasty, toasty malt flavors with nice earthy notes. Not an exquisitely crafted stout, but very nice nonetheless. (274 characters)

This beer looks beautiful in the glass. It is extremely black with a nice brown head. The aroma is chocolate with a lot of roasted goodness coming through. As others have said this is somewhat thin, but it does have big flavor, although not overly complex. It all works very well though as I really love this stout. Everytime I drink this beer, I like it more. This is the first oatmeal stout I have ever had, and it has definitely inspired me to search for more. (463 characters)

This beer was thinner than it appeared when poured, but not bad. Carbonation was a little higher than I prefer too. Overall not a bad stout, but not exceptional either. It is worth seeking out again and the price is very good. (591 characters)

Hrmm, pours a nice jet black with only a rim of tan at the bottom of the glass. Forms a nice pancake head, but quickly thins. Smaller bubbles than the Arcadia IPA, moderate carbonation. The aroma is heavenly!..Think sweet, dark hazelnut coffee, maple syrup and vanilla. Really amazing aroma. Taste is initially brisk flavor hops, dark sweet malt, some burnt sugar, giving way to a chocolate and coffee finish. The bittering hops are a little too harsh during the finish and hinder it's drinkability. Others have said this beer has a thin body, but I disagree. It's not syrupy or cloying (say, like a Bell's Expedition Stout), and has a nice mouthfeel. The alcohol become obtrusive during the middle of the glass, and is this beer's only detriment. (904 characters)

Pours pitch black with very little head. Aromas of roasted malt, a touch of sourness, and a slight trace of herbal hops. Flavor was a bit odd for an oatmeal stout... no sweetness to speak of, dominated by roasted malt/coffee. Not overly smooth, and somewhat thin... with a very dry finish. An interesting brew, but not one that I'm likely to seek out. (379 characters)

Part of an Arcadia sampler: Pours almost black with a medium but quickly dissipating light brown head. Decent lacing. Aroma of coffee and malt. Flavor was creamy and somewhat thin, consisting of chocolate, coffee, and malt. Finish was creamy and slightly metallic. Interesting but not great. (291 characters)

This beer was a very dark brown color and formed a perfect off white head that retained it's head and left some nice lace. The aroma was of malt and butterscotch. The flavor was of malt and a touch of butterscotch. The body was lighter than most for this style and had a lighter finish. (319 characters)